Guilty Conscience
by Tsunami-dono
Summary: A cucco arrives in the Kokiri village for Saria, and Link is a little paranoid. And who actually made the mask like remains for the evil spirits in Termina? It all revolves around one person. This is probably my best fic ever! So please R&R. You'll make m
1. The Cucco

Disclaimer ~ The characters and places in this story are the sole property of Nintendo. I don't own any Zelda character or setting, though I'd give up my orange juice to. And I love my orange juice.  
  
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Guilty Conscience  
  
By: Tsunami  
  
Chapter 1 - The Cucco  
  
" I wonder when my prize is getting here," said Saria, slumping down into her chair. " I'm tired of waiting!"  
  
Link sat upright in his chair, staring out the window. Waiting for the delivery person would come. It was in the middle of the day, so they could both clearly see if the delivery person came.  
  
" Well, they did say that it would come in the next 24 hours. And you won just this morning," he said, knowing that this was a very good point.  
  
Saria had won a mystery prize from a contest she saw around the village. It was the first time that she had won anything in her entire lifetime, and was much too anxious to just sit, and wait there.   
  
" The village isn't that far away from town though. It couldn't have taken them this long!" Saria stood up and walked over towards the broom. She began sweeping hurridly back and forth.  
  
" Saria, what are you doing? You already cleaned the house twice already, and if you don't stop you'll be wanting to clean my house. And we don't want that," said Link, walking over to her and taking the broom.   
  
" Just a little bit long..."   
  
Her eyes flashed green, and she bolted out the door towards the entrance. Link looked after her, stunned at how fast she was, and then followed her to the entrance. There stood Malon, holding a wooden crate in her hands.  
  
" Oh my gosh! Thank you so much! I've been waiting forever," said Saria, taking the crate and examining it carefully. " I hope it's clean. I just cleaned my house this morning."  
  
Link came up behind her, the broom still in his hand. " She cleaned it more than once, too."   
  
" Whatever. Let's just get home first," mumbled Saria, glaring daggers at him  
  
" Alright. Later then Saria, and good luck..." Malon raced out the exit.  
  
Saria ran back to her house, nearly trampling Link over. She ripped open the crate, to find a cucco with dazzling red eyes. It's wings were so magnificent, it took up the whole table. It's talons scratching the surface of the table.   
  
" Uh, Saria. You better watch out. It looks really agitated right now," Link stammered, backing away from it. The cucco looked at him intently, clutching the table tightly. " In fact, I think I'm gonna go back to my house."  
  
Saria waved him away with her hand. After he'd left, she chuckled. " I can't believe he's afraid of a cucco. He's fourteen, has been on more adventures than nearly anyone, and he's afraid of a cucco!" Saria continued to stare at the bird. Admiring it even more than before because Link didn't like it.  
  
Meanwhile, Link was lying on his bed looking at a mask. It was dirty, and grimy, from being kept under his unwashed clothes for so long. There was some scratches on it from being used, and the paint was fading slowly. It looked just like a piece of junk.  
  
" Gosh," whispered Link. " How long have you been under there buddy?" Saria knocked on the side of Link's house and walked in. He discarded the item he had to his pile of clothes. " Whatcha want?"  
  
Saria put her hands on her hips. " Hey now, I can come see you anytime you know. We live right next to each other," she laughed. " I don't need a reason."  
  
Link smiled apologetically. " Sorry. Just a little spooked by the bird, you know? So really, did you need something?"  
  
" I just thought you might like to come with me to the temple?"  
  
" The cucco's not coming, right? And by the way, where is he?" Link jumped up and looked outside towards Saria's house.  
  
Saria rolled her eyes. " Yeah, I'm going to take a cucco out for a nice stroll though the forest with you. Come on, I don't even know what I'm going to do with it!"  
  
Link nodded, and they headed out the door. Racing though the forest, they chased each other to the meadow. Weaving in and out of the maze, and jumping into the small pools of water, Link and Saria eventually came to meet the temple. It was about noon, and the sunlight poured directly overhead through the trees.  
  
" Goddesses," exclaimed Link. " This place gets better everytime I see...WAAAAHHH!!!!" Link had stumbled over a large hole. Luckily he had caught himself from falling down into it.  
  
" Are you all right Link? Why did you fall all of a sudden?" questioned Saria.  
  
" There's this giant hole here," said Link, climbed up and out of it. " I don't even know how it got here!"  
  
Saria walked up to it and started examining it. She stuck her face in it, picked up the dirt around it, and had Link help her down part way into it. Saria jumped back out and brushed herself off.  
  
" Well?" asked Link, anxiously waiting for her conclusion.  
  
" That is definently a big, mysterious hole."  
  
" Yeah, like we both didn't already know that?"  
  
Saria laughed. " Just trying to help. So what do you want to do?"  
  
Grinning impishly, Link proceeded forward towards Saria. Trapping her into a corner in the small area they were in. Closer and closer he came, while the tainted, setting sun came down upon them from the sky. The sun setting while Link lunged, grabbing Saria at the sides.  
  
" No! No...HA!HA!HA!HA!...STOP LINK!" Saria fruitlessly tried to run from him, nearly falling into the hole she had just examined before.  
  
" Well," shouted Link. " You wanted something to do, right?"  
  
" This isn't what I had in mind!"  
  
Link ran up beside her, tackling her down to the ground. His hands reached for her feet, throwing her shoes off and tickling them. He had to hold them down to keep them from squirming away.  
  
" Oh well. You're not really in a position to tell me that I...ooof!"  
  
" Well now I am! I hope that teaches you a lesson," said Saria, holding her shoe above Link's head.  
  
Link scooched away from her. " All right! Don't over kill now!" His eyes darted over to the hole, he'd seen something move. " Saria. Did you see that," he asked, all the comedic tone drained from his voice.  
  
Saria slowed down too, carefully looking at the hole from afar. " No...why? What did you see?"  
  
He waited for something to rise from the hole once more, but nothing happened. Inching closer and closer, he took one last look. Link couldn't see very well, though, for the sun was now completely gone.   
  
Link sighed. " It was probably just a gopher or something."  
  
Saria composed herself and stood up, brushing herself off. " Good, then let's go home. It's too dark to do anything fun now."  
  
" What? You didn't have fun?"  
  
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Author's Note ~ OK. I know that it's really unbearably short, and you want to read the next chapter. (I hope) But the next chapter will be up soon. It's a bit longer than the last, so I think you'll enjoy it. Thanks a bunch! 


	2. Knives and Milk

Disclaimer ~ I still don't own it. If I did, I'd be very, very rich and happy. I probably wouldn't be writing fan fics then either.  
  
A/N ~ O_O It took me so long to write this chapter!!! But I'm finally done!!! *crys with happiness* I never thought I'd finish!!! I hope that you're all happy now. It's very hard writing such an interesting chapter. (Or at least I think it's interesting ^ ^;;) Oh well.  
  
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Chapter 2 - Knives and Milk  
  
Malon stood near a grave in Kakariko Village. This rain lightly falling down upon the stone. Her chin was tucked under, hiding her face from the starless sky. The sky, in fact, had nothing in it except clouds. What used to be such a beautiful, pale, moon in the sky, now stood an ugly, black, nothingness. I void of complete sorrow. Only seven years old, standing alone in the graveyard.  
  
A strange voice came from behind her. "Why are you all alone out here?" asked Dampe, looking around for someone else. "It's not real safe for anyone to be here at this hour." Malon remained quiet. "Come on now. I know how you must feel."  
  
She sniffed. "How."  
  
Dampe sighed. "I've seen a lot of people come and go here. Each of them here for a good reason..." He set his shovel against the fence. "And my mom and dad both died when I was young. I started spending a lot of time here, talking to them. The gravekeeper at the time had offered me a place to sleep, and a job as an assistant gravekeeper, and when he died, I took over."  
  
Malon didn't know what to say. "I...didn't know..."  
  
Dampe smiled gently as he could and said, "Don't worry. But you really need to get back home. Your father is probably really worried. Don't you think?" Malon nodded. "All right then. If you want to come back, then make sure it's in the day time. I've seen the poes roaming around more lately." Dampe made a scary face and Malon giggled.  
  
She said, "Thank you Mr. Dampe," and skipped back to the ranch.  
  
Dampe sighed. "No, thank you," he muttered after she had gone. "I've finally gotten that off of my chest..."  
  
Malon continued to the ranch, happy to know that it was not only she that had gone though such things. She still wished that her mom was there with her though. She had taken care of all the animals when she was there. Just her smile had calmed down the horses when they felt threatened, and a pat of the ground had made the chickens come to her.  
  
"Well, I better hurry. I'll have to get to bed early if I have to feed the horses in the morning." Malon sprinted the rest of the way, but found herself face to face with Ingo, the hired work that was brought here a couple of years ago.  
  
"What the heck are you doing out so late, Malon! You idiot! You had me worried!" he yelled, getting right up to Malon. "What were you thinking?"  
  
Malon's eyes began to water up, falling down her face. "I just wanted to see mom..." Mr. Dampe said it was a good thing. What's Ingo so mad at me for?, she thought.  
  
"I know what you're sad, but nothin's gonna bring her back. Now, how 'bout you get to bed, all right?" said Ingo, his tone softening a bit. "Just don't scare me again."  
  
Malon nodded, wiping her tears away. "Yes sir."  
  
Ingo nodded back and stretched out his arms. He slowly walked inside to go to sleep. Since there were only two beds, him and Talon switched every so often. This night was Ingo's night on the hay. Malon giggled when she saw him already asleep. His heavy snoring made bad sleep for her though.  
  
Well, it's getting close to the time that I get up anyway..., she thought, tip-toeing out the door. I'll just start on my work early.  
  
Malon walked to the stable, and over to the horses. She sat next to Epona, stroking her gently as she sang to her. Malon fed all the horses, and brushed them before she let them out. It was actually kind of tricky getting them out, but her mom had taught her. They couldn't really go through the door of course, so they had to be let out the back way.   
  
"Mom...," said Malon, so barely audible even she could barely hear.  
  
She fed the cows after she was done letting the horses out, and gave them time to rest before milking them. They seemed a little more on the edge than usual.  
  
"Hm...I think they know that something's wrong. The cows are a bit more sensitive than us about feelings," whispered Malon, to no one in particular. "They're probably mourning too. That...or mooing." She stood up to walk to the door. The sun was almost up now, and Malon would have to wait for either Ingo or Talon to get up to find more work, so she decided to ride one of the horses. She still had to be quiet while Ingo and Talon were asleep though. They were both pretty heavy sleepers, but both would wake in an instant if they heard something bad.  
  
"That a girl. I'm just gonna take a little ride," she cooed softly to one of the horses. "Just don't make too much noise," The horse huffed softly, as if to show that she could be quiet. "That a girl..." Malon jumped on the horse and walked slowly around the coral. She patted her gently on the side, showing her appreciation.   
  
Malon always liked to ride bare backed on a horse. It always gave the horse more freedom when she was riding. The horse never felt too restrained from anything, and was more relaxed. Malon always wished to be as free as them. Just like her mom was.  
  
"Hey, girl, what do you think will happen to the ranch?" Malon asked the horse. The horse took two stronger steps than its others, pushing forward faster. "I see." She got off and gave the horse a carrot from her pocket. "The morning's going by fast. Maybe I should deliver the milk for dad, and let him sleep."  
  
Malon walked slowly, dragging her feet as she went. "Everything's so boring now," she sighed. "I hope everything goes well in town though. But then again, why wouldn't it?"   
  
As she pondered this, she realized that she was already at the gate of the market place. As Malon walked in she knew that everything looked fairly normal, as always, but there was something odd about the mood of the market place. She couldn't quite place what it was, but the market seemed somewhat happier, or brighter, than usual.  
  
"Well, that's strange," said Malon. She was looking a small boy with a bright, wooden mask on. Walking up to him, she tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but where are these masks coming from?"  
  
The turned around quickly, causing Malon to jump back slightly. "Yeah there was a guy that came here awhile ago," the boy said, pointing to the under construction building in the corner of the market. "He made a bunch of masks for a festival that's coming soon." The boy put the mask back on and ran off towards the other children.  
  
"How very strange..."  
  
As Malon went around the market place, and in the alleyway, to deliver the milk, she saw a group of kids huddled around a bench. She couldn't see exactly what it was that they were gathered around, so she stepped in closer to see. There was a boy, not much older than her, sitting there with an unfinished mask in his hands. He was carving around it so gently that it seemed as though he wasn't even touching it. His hands moved so gracefully, so self-assured.  
  
"See, it's not too hard after you get used to it," he explained to one of the smaller children that were around him. "Here, you try." He handed the mask to the girl, who only looked about four or five. He guided her hand over the mask, showing her the correct motions. "Just be careful, I don't want you to get cut."  
  
Malon stepped in closer to look at the mask again. It looked almost exactly like the face of one of the gorons on Death Mountain. She'd seen one or two come to the market place once. They had fairly large heads that were in a large oval shape. And that's exactly what the mask looked like.  
  
"Would you like to try?" The boys voice broke Malon of her reverie. "It's really not that hard." He handed it to her gently, giving her the knife with which he carved it.   
  
"Oh, I don't know. I'm not very coordinated," stammered Malon, backing away from the blade. "Besides, I need to get home. I have some chores to do." This was true, in a sense, but she didn't really know what her chores were exactly. "Bye," said Malon, with a final wave of her hand to the crowd.  
  
'He seemed nice enough,' thought Malon, 'But I'd never be able to handle a knife!' Malon chuckled to herself thinking about it.  
  
She pranced along through the Hyrule market's gate, and past the moat that receded it. The glistening water calmed her soul, and she had a sudden urge to jump in the moat. She laughed at herself for thinking something so strange. But maybe Malon could go to the lake for awhile.  
  
She sighed. "What am I thinking. Ingo will never let me out of the ranch after being gone now."  
  
Ingo stood firm at the gate and glared directly at her. "Where have you been?" he asked, and not waiting for an answer he proceeded to pull her to the stables. "I had to do all of this work by myself. And the milk still needs to be delivered!"  
  
"I already delivered it," stated Malon.  
  
Ingo was silent for a moment. "All of it?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Well," muttered Ingo, blushing at making such a mistake. "I guess you have the day off then." Malon's happiness was eminent upon her face. "But, if I need your help you have to help, no questions asked." Malon nodded quickly and ran to one of the horses.  
  
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A/N ~Yay!!! I bet you can't wait until the next chapter! Well...you'll have to wait once again. I almost have an idea, but school keeps getting in the way. *glares at teachers who have homework* Just be patient. ^ ^;; Oh, and about reviews. You can give me flames about this one. I know that a lot of people aren't going to like this story much. 


	3. Feeling

Disclaimer ~ Don't own Zelda; Never will.   
  
A/N ~ I'm sorry! *cries* I took too long to write this chapter! I've been writing another fan fic for Teen Titans, so I've been confused a lot. Sorry. ^ ^;; Enjoy chapter 3!  
  
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Chapter 3 - Feeling  
  
Malon continued to ride off to the lake, galloping as fast as her horse would take her. There was no telling when Ingo might need her to do chores again that day. She had to pack in as much as she could with the free time that she currently had.   
  
When Malon got to the entrance, she saw a figure by the labratory. 'Oh, it's just the lab guy,' she thought, waving at him happily after getting off by the water's edge. 'He must be testing the water again.'  
  
"Now here's a good spot to sit, if the birds don't bother me," Malon said to herself, setting herself by one of the stone pillars that lay by the lake. She took a book out of a pocket from the sack she had put on her horse, and started to read. It was an old book that her mom had given her. It was a very nice book about horses.  
  
"I never really had a chance to go through all of this," she said, reminising. "Ingo's so stupid to give me this time. He's actually letting me be happy!" She laughed to herself, but heard a voice behind her laugh also. She turned around quickly to see who it was. The voice had sounded very familiar, but she couldn't place a face.  
  
"Hey." The boy from the market was standing behind her.  
  
"Um...why are you here?"  
  
"Well, that's a funny story," the boy said, scratching his head. "I went by Lon Lon Ranch to get some inspiration for my mask making, and a crazy guy ran out and gave me five rupees if I went to get you from the lake." He reached into his pocket to get the rupees. "See."  
  
"I see," stated Malon, reaching to put her book back in her pack. "Well, it looks as though you ran all the way to find me. Would you like a ride back to the ranch?" She jumped on top of her horse and patted to the back part of the saddle, inviting him to come. "I'm sure you could even stay at the ranch for a bit."  
  
With a joyful grin on his face, the boy jumped on the back of the horse. "Wow! Thanks a lot! This'll give me more time to work on my masks, too." He pulled out the goron mask that he'd been working on from his pack. "And I finished this if you'd like to see it."  
  
"It's beautiful! I'll have to look at it closer when we get back," exclaimed Malon, kicking the sides of the horse. Just then she thought of something though; she hadn't asked the boy his name. "Oh my!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I don't even know your name!" exclaimed Malon. "I feel kind of stupid now. Anyway...what is your name?"  
  
The boy's grin grew wide. "The name's Rowlan. I wondered when you were going to ask me, " Rowlan laughed.  
  
"Hey!" Malon's confused face turned into a pout. "That's mean, teasing me like that."  
  
Rowlan's laughed slowly subsided. "Yeah, sorry. Just havin' some fun there, you know."  
  
"Sure. Whatever you say Rowlan."  
  
When they got to the ranch, Ingo was flailing his arms out frantically, calling them over to him. His face flushed with exaustion, he ran over to them nearly yanking Malon off the back of the horse. As they ran to the stable, Ingo explained that the cuccos had been let loose and were ambient. Every time he or Talon had tried to grab them, they started clawing and scratching them. And if you've ever had a cucco chase you, you'll know that it's never anything to joke about.   
  
"OK, so the cuccos are all crazy and loose now. What do you want me to do about it?" asked Malon in an exasperated tone.  
  
Ingo's face grew red. "What do you think, little missy? I want you to catch those darn cuccos!"  
  
"You're joking! If you or dad can't, I'm never gonna be able to catch them!"  
  
"I don't care! Just get out there and try! Do what you have to catch those stupid birds!"  
  
Malon ran into the cloud of feathers that had gathered near the fence, and jumped in. She tried to grab at their feet, but their quick movements wouldn't allow her to. The cuccos clawed furiously at her, aiming at her arms, her face, anything that was visible. She rolled about them, trying to get away. Malon finally found herself being pulled up, out of the gathered birds. Rowlan positioned her behind him and pulled out a strange mask from his pack. It's features were like that of a cucco, but it seemed different somehow.  
  
He pulled out a harp and began to play some sort of marching song. Rowlan's legs moved up and down to the beat of the music, and her marched over to the group of angry birds. The confident feeling that emitted from his body movements made Malon relax slightly. She knew that he'd somehow catch all of the cuccos. And just by watching how he walked among them reassured her thoughts.   
  
Rowlan walked past each of them, playing the marching song on his small harp. Each of the cuccos trailed after him each time he came near them. Their violent actions were no more, and they seemed calm, mesmorized by the haunting marching tune. Rowlan continued this until every bird was behind him, marching along. He led them to the house and stopped his music once all of them were safely inside. Unfortunately, the last bird was too close, and attacked Rowlan while he was off guard. Only his right hand suffered though. He had dodged slightly at the sound of the shuffling cucco talons.  
  
Malon ran to him. "Oh my gosh! Are you all right?" She grabbed his hand and took him to the sink upstairs to get it cleaned. She let the cool water run over his hand. Rowlan's pained expression quickly relaxed at contact with the cold liquid. "How did you do that?" she asked him, looking strait into his eyes.  
  
"Well...you see...that's a funny story too." He rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "You saw me making masks out in the market place right? Well, my master taught me how to alter certain properties of the mask so it could do more than just look nice." Rowlan waited for a response from her, but she just continued to look at him. "The properties that I changed in that mask were the feeling of the mask."  
  
Malon now looked questioningly at him. "How so?..."  
  
"Well, I gave it a feeling of leadership, or confidence. And leaders are ment to be followed, so the cuccos followed me." Rowlan ended with a nervous grin.  
  
"Oh," was all Malon could respond with.   
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"Cool!" Malon's eyes lit up. "What other things can you do?"  
  
Rowlan smiled proudly and proceeded to explain the various properties a mask had. Each special property is what makes a mask appealing, but the hidden properties are what you can do with the mask. Malon sat on the bed, wrapping his hand with some cloth, and listened to the stories and Rowlan told about the thing's he'd done and what his master had taught him.  
  
After the story telling, Malon asked her father if Rowlan could stay at the ranch while he carved his masks. Knowing that they owed the boy a favor for gathering the cuccos up, Talon let him stay. He gave Rowlan the tower at the far end of the ranch, and permission to do what he pleased with it. Rowlan then got set on cleaning it up, and designing his workspace.  
  
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A/N ~ Hope you enjoyed it! Like I said, I'm writing another fan fic at the same time, so I started getting my ideas mixed up. ^ ^;; Oh well. I think this turned out well, despite the time it took me to write it. I'm really into it now, so everything should run smoother. If you have any suggestions to helping me make this better, just review! It doesn't take long! ;) Later days my fans! 


	4. Pecked

Disclaimer ~ I don't own Zelda, and never will.  
  
A/N ~ I'm REALLY sorry that I haven't updated for awhile, but I've been busy writing another fan fiction, and I didn't have time because of shopping for Christmas presents. ^ ^;; Enjoy the late version of chapter 4!  
  
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Chapter 4 - Pecked  
  
"Ow! Stop that!"  
  
"How can you complain? You're the one that brought this upon yourself."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?! I didn't know you were gonna punch me for tickling you!"  
  
Saria shook her head and dabbed Link's swollen cheek with a cloth. He squirmed uncomfortably in his chair, stretching his face out of her reach. "Oh just stay still!" she said, annoyance eminent in her voice. Link stretched back, as ordered.  
  
"You can't treat me like this!"  
  
Saria raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"  
  
"Well...," he searched for something to counter with. "I'm taller than you!"  
  
Rolling her eyes, Saria put the wet cloth away and brought a dry one out. She placed it on the swollen spot and taped in over. "There. All finished. Now that was so horrible."  
  
"Yes, it was..." Link jumped out of the chair and limped to the door.  
  
Saria walked up to him and swept his leg from under him. "It's your face that hurts, Sherlock, not your leg."  
  
Link huffed. "Whatever! My leg hurts now after you swept it from under me!"  
  
"Well then. There's a lesson to be learned from this then."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
Saria glared daggers at him. "Don't tickle me."  
  
Link's lower lip formed a slight pout, and he muttered, "Fine. I'll be in my house if you need me..." He limped honestly back to his tree and climbed slowly up the ladder, making time for his injuries.  
  
"Darn. She's so stubborn!" mumbled Link, rubbing both his leg and his cheek. "My gosh."  
  
He got up again, slowly so as not to hurt himself again, and went over to the sink to look at his leg. But behind him he heard a low scraping sound, like that of someone who's scratching the table when they're nervous. It paused every once in awhile and whatever was making the noise cooed softly in the interval. It wasn't a very pleasant coo, it was more like a rabid, rasping, wolfos. Link decided not to move, for as long as he could anyway, and not breathe.   
  
It made him nervous to think about what was behind him. One thing was for sure: it wasn't human.  
  
Link decided to whirl around, from anticipation, and attack whatever was there. "Get out of my house!" he yelled. "Run you..." Link studied the animal; it was Saria's cucco. He let out a low sigh of relieve. Now he just had to get past it to find Saria. "All right you, just let me pass."  
  
Before Link could react, the cucco pecked at his arm. Link didn't like wasting time, so he jumped over it and down the ladder. He ran to Saria's house to tell her that her cucco had escaped, but the cucco had started to run after him. Link tried leaped over the bushes that were in his path, and he ran up the ramp on Saria's house, attempting to jump off after the cucco was there.  
  
"Try and catch me now!" howlered Link, jumping off of Saria's house. "Betcha can't beat that, you...oh crud!"  
  
The cucco jumped down from the house, and was descending fast on Link. It perched itself on Link's head, and started violently pecking at him. Since Link was pretty fast, he quickly grabbed the cucco and tried to run into Saria's house.  
  
Link scrambled to the door. "SARIA! Your cucco's after me! Help!"   
  
"What are you talking...Link! Behind you!" she yelled, pointed to the cucco. It had snuck up from behind again.  
  
"BAAAAWWWWWKKKKK!" The cucco hobbled after Link faster than his horse could. It jumped up again, and pecked at his head, which made Link run out the door, to the forest. He looked behind him, and saw Saria staring in horror at the evil cucco.  
  
" GET AWAY STUPID BIRD," yelled Link, more so in pain than anger. Tears streaming down his face, he sprinted towards the Forest Temple as fast as he could. Right then, Link would have rather faced Ganondorf again then go through this. And Link has never wanted to feel sharp blades slicing his skin again. But that sounds like a walk in the park compared to the ripping, and tearing, and aching of his flesh that this bird was taking him through.  
  
" Must...get...away," said Link, through gritted teeth. " Why...Malon...bring..."  
  
Link ran as fast as he could, but he could only last so long. The cucco was tearing him apart, his skin was torn, his clothes were ripped. His stamina was decreasing too. He couldn't go on much longer. As he neared the temple though, his feet became separated from the ground, and he had fallen into a secret grotto.  
  
" At least I'm away from the cucco for now," Link thought to himself, still falling. He was right, but his wounds from the fowls talons had drove into him. Link couldn't take much more, for he also had a large gash on his face. His blood ran down to his mouth, and he blacked out.  
  
" What...," said Link, when he finally woke up. He was in a sort of tunnel, that looked as though it had been man made. There were dim lights that were strung along the corridor, and some mats for which to sleep on.   
  
" You should get back to sleep. I'll wake you up soon," said an unfamiliar voice. It was the voice of a man for sure, but Link couldn't place who it could be, so he fell back asleep. There was a soft pidder padder coming from the ceiling, that seemed to move in a certain rythm. Link let the rythm drift him into another deep slumber.   
  
There were pieces of stone floating around Link, they each had some sort of symbol upon them. There were bright lights all around him, while the stones shattered, leaving humongus shadows. The shadows charged at him, one by one, nearly trampling him. Each shadow had a distinct form of some kind. One with four legs, one with a large tail, one which looked human but bigger, and one with two heads. They each seemed very familiar indeed, but so distant, and so different. Each creation was just a gigantic shadow, casting down everything in it's path. In the middle of them all, stood a smaller figure with it's hands raised upward. The middle figure seemed human, and also seemed to be controlling the beasts. There was then a bright flash, and Link woke up.  
  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
A/N ~ Did ya like it? I worked semi-hard on this chapter, I might do it over again...if I'm not too lazy to get typing. ^ ^;; Stay tuned for chapter 5! 


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